Chapter One- White Dusk
Eva Allerdyce gazed off into the thick woodland which bordered the small winding path she slowly meandered down, dreading every step she took. It brought her closer, bit by bit, to that hell-in-a-building called school.
That wasn't an exaggeration. There was something... different about Eva. Something... wrong. It all had to do with genetics. Powers. And the fact that everyone knew.
200 years had passed since the Great Apocalypse Prevention. Or, as it was known these days, the Mutant Rising. That started it all.
Person by person, the world had become mutants. Powers were normal, and you were a freak of nature if you didn't have them.
Sadly, Eva didn't.
Frickin' genes.
She forced herself down another train of thought. Happier. She thought about coming home. Her parents were the best ever. Her mom was an artist, while her dad wrote novels. When they weren't shut in their studios, they had the best times. Making up words and definitions in Scrabbles, paint balloon fights... etc. A picture perfect family. Picture perfect. Inside little dark secrets stopped it from being anything else.
Happy thoughts. Cookies. Pie. Forcibly evicting coaches from softball fields as an umpire. Ah, good times.
Random rambling thoughts filled her head as she slowly walked to school. Her electric blue eyes gazed off to another world, masking churning thoughts inside. Her raggedly cropped, short, spiky orange and black hair swayed slightly with the wind, dancing with her slow steps. Her hair was a patched quilt of various hues of orange and black, adding small light to the otherwise dark girl. She wore a long-sleeved black turtleneck, and loose black shorts over long black leggings. A long black trench coat hung over her slight frame, and knee-high, mismatched socks with various dark patterns came over the leggings up to her knees. From a black chain around her next, a silver moon pendant hung down, shining dully in the sun, not showing off its full nighttime glory.
The trees swiftly thinned before opening up to noise and civilization. There was a bus stop near her house, and a road through the town that led to her school, but she preferred the quiet peace of the woods. She wasn't really one for talk and people. That wasn't all her fault. It's not as if they wanted to talk to her...
The loud noise of the crowded high school parking lot overwhelmed her at first. When she was in the woods, she seemed to lose herself. When she got to school, she still wasn't quite all there.
She was forced to awareness, however, by the scrape of her knees against the pavement as she fell onto the black tarmac. Sniggers sounded behind her, and a few mutters of, "Filthy human." Her face flushed, and her eyes flashed dangerously, turning to ice. Before she could rise to her feet and pursue her tormentors, a sturdy hand placed itself on her shoulder. The same touch helped her up, and steadily walked her away, leading her to a bench near the door to wait for the bell to ring.
"Bitches," a soft voice murmured in her ear. "They're just jealous."
She turned to see a small, red-headed boy, face adorned with freckles, as tan as Eva's was pale. His green eyes lit with wit, playfulness, and a touch of anger. The corner of her mouth twisted up into a wry grin. Nico.
"Of what, exactly? My looks?" she replied sarcastically, giving him a long sidelong look.
He looked at her, falsely pondering. "Hm... maybe. If they looked in a mirror, it would shatter. For you, it might only crack a smidge." She elbowed him, but her eyes were smiling. Nico could always make her feel better.
Close to them, a tinny bell rang. "Now, your royal beauty, may I escort you to the dungeon of torture?"
Playing along, she gave him her hand, and put on her best haughty look. "You may, foul peasant." Grinning, they walked inside.
She knew he would walk with her anyway, to keep her from punching any kid's lights out along the way to the safety of the teacher-supervised room, but the little act would keep any uncomfortable thoughts from surfacing.
With that happy note, the typical Bayville High day began.